Roche's Chairman commits to Switzerland as a research location at AGM

According to Schwan, Roche was also able to achieve strong results in 2025 despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties. This development was driven by continuous innovation in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals business, as the Chairman of the Board of Directors said in his speech.

The Group is pursuing a long-term strategy aimed at preventing, stopping or curing diseases. To this end, Roche is combining the expertise from both business areas with investments in research and development, both internally and through partnerships.

Schwan emphasized that the combination of diagnostics and pharmaceuticals expertise gives Roche a sustainable competitive advantage and enables the company to translate scientific advances directly into innovative therapies for millions of patients worldwide.

Commitment to the Basel site

"We are investing in research and development particularly at our key global sites such as San Francisco and Shanghai, but of course also here in Basel, where we laid the foundation stone for Building 12 last October: another state-of-the-art and flexible research and development building in which we are investing half a billion Swiss francs," says Schwan.

This investment is a very clear commitment to Basel. Over the last ten years, Roche has invested seven billion francs in Switzerland. "We believe in Switzerland as a research location and its potential."

Competition is getting tougher

At the same time, the Chairman of the Board of Directors emphasized that the USA and China - Roche's two most important markets - are setting tough incentives in terms of industrial policy. "Market access is increasingly linked to local investment. Protectionism inevitably means that the investment pie for the rest of the world is getting smaller and smaller - and international competition is getting bigger and bigger."

Against this backdrop, Schwan emphasized the importance of cutting-edge research and top talent for Switzerland as a business location and warned against overly restrictive framework conditions, such as restrictions on the recruitment of highly qualified specialists or cuts in education and basic research.

At the same time, he warned that political stability alone was not enough: Speed and adaptability are crucial in order to survive in the global competition of the life sciences industry.

According to Schwan, the working group set up by the Federal Council should help to drive forward digitalization, reduce bureaucracy and modernize pricing in the healthcare sector in order to accelerate access to innovative medicines.

All proposals accepted

Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company's shareholders approved all of the Board of Directors' proposals at the Annual General Meeting. They also approved a partial amendment to the Articles of Association.

For example, they approved the conversion of profit-sharing certificates (GS) into participation certificates (PS). As a result of the exchange, the PS will replace the GS as non-voting equity securities in Roche's capital structure.

The PS will be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The last trading day of the GS on the SIX Swiss Exchange is scheduled for March 16.